The Most Virtuous Personality After the Prophets in Islam

Who Is the Most Virtuous Person After the Prophets?​

Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī

❖ Question​

Who is the most virtuous personality among all nations after the Prophets?

❖ Answer​

After the Prophets (ʿalayhim al-salām), the most virtuous of all people is Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (RA). After him, in order of virtue:

1. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (RA)
2. ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (RA)
3. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (RA)

❖ Scholarly Statement​

◈ ʿAllāmah Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Kirmānī (d. 922H):
((أفضل الناس بعد نبينا عليه السلام أبو بكر بن أبى قحافة السهمي، ثم عمر بن الخطاب العدوي، ثم عثمان بن عفان الأموي، ثم على بن أبى طالب الهاشمي رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين))
“The most virtuous person after our Prophet ﷺ (and the other Prophets) is Abū Bakr ibn Abī Quḥāfah al-Sahmī (RA), then ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb al-ʿAdawī (RA), then ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān al-Umawī (RA), then ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Hāshimī (RA). May Allah be pleased with them all.”
— Fatāwā Fayḍ Kirmānī 3/273, manuscript

Conclusion​

• After all Prophets, the most virtuous of mankind is Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (RA).
• After him come ʿUmar (RA), then ʿUthmān (RA), then ʿAlī (RA) in order of superiority.
• This ranking is the consensus of the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamāʿah.